VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION
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VERY IMPORTANT INFO

Thinking about getting a tattoo?

 

Getting a tattoo is a serious decision. It is important to arm yourself with as much information as possible.

This is a basic guideline for what to look for when choosing a studio and a tattoo artist. Included are precautions meant to help prevent cross-contamination of blood borne diseases from one client to the next and instructions on how to care for your new tattoo. These guidelines are based on a combination of vast professional experience, common sense, research and extensive clinical practice. This is not to be considered a substitute for medical advice from a doctor. Be aware, however, that many doctors have no specific training or experience regarding tattoos and may not be educated on how to best assist you.

Education & Awareness is of the utmost importance to us at INK CITY TATTOOS so please familiarize yourself with the following tattoo guidelines. Any studio you select should abide by these basic rules for your safety…IF THEY DO NOT, LEAVE THAT STUDIO IMMEDIATELY:

  • Always insist on clean, sterile equipment & ALWAYS NEW NEEDLES!
  • Only ultrasonically cleaned and freshly sterilized instruments should be used for tattooing. Ultrasonic units use ultrasonic waves to disintegrate ink debris, blood and plasma off of tattoo instruments ensuring superior uniform cleaning. The only acceptable means of sterilization is by an autoclave. The autoclave should be spore tested, at least, monthly to ensure that it is functioning properly. Any reputable studio should have no problem producing these test records upon request.
  • Needles should be single-use only. Make sure your tattooist removes new needles and tubes from sealed autoclave bags in front of you. Autoclave bags have color indicators to show that they have been sterilized in an autoclave. However, these indicators can change colors even if the autoclave is not working properly. This is another reason you should ask to see autoclave test records. These records should be posted in public view.
  • Be certain that your tattooist pours fresh ink into new disposable ink caps. Under NO circumstances should ink that has been poured out or used, be poured back into ink bottles.
  • All tattooists should wash their hands and put on a new pair of gloves when starting a tattoo. Make sure that any item that may be touched during the tattoo process is covered by plastic or barrier film, to avoid cross contamination. Cross contamination is the act of spreading potential pathogenic (disease-causing) organisms from one item or surface to another. Even if a tattooist has on new gloves but touches a cross contamination item or surface, you are then in danger of those pathogens being transferred to your freshly broken skin. The best way to prevent cross contamination from one client to the next is by covering all surfaces that a tattooist might touch during the tattoo process with disposable plastic or barrier film. Items that should be covered include spray bottles, clip cords, lamps, knobs on power supplies and chair adjustments. Be sure your artist does not touch anything with dirty gloves, and that all items are wiped down with a disinfectant in between tattoos as an extra precautionary step.
  • Your tattooist should be clean in appearance and sober. The furnishings in a studio should also be clean and orderly in appearance. All containers, work stations, and floors should be made of hard non-porous materials so they can be cleaned with a hard surface disinfectant.
  • Feel free to question the tattooist about any of these basic guidelines and procedures. If a tattooist is a professional, they will have no problem complying with these standards.
  • If for any reason you feel uncomfortable or if a tattooist appears evasive when questioned - go elsewhere!
  • Choosing a Design: Tattoos should reflect who you are and what you like. Take your time and make sure your tattoo will be something that you can live with forever. Don't be limited to what a studio has on hand; sometimes part of finding the perfect tattoo involves explaining your ideas to the tattooist, and/or bringing in reference materials. Your tattooist should be able to draw a custom design for you. Discuss size, color, and placement. Sometimes designs that work on paper may not work on skin. You should be comfortable enough to trust in the experience of your chosen tattooist.
  • Placement and Size of the Design: Give the placement of your tattoo a lot of thought. Most people have a gut feeling about where they would like to have their tattoos placed. Choosing where your tattoo is placed should not necessarily be based on a fear of how much it might or might not hurt. Every person's body reacts differently, so the sensation will vary from person to person. Size is another issue. Starting small is not always best. As tattoos age they spread a little, so get the tattoo the size that it will look the best over time. Discuss these and all other aspects of your tattoo with your tattooist. They can share their experience with you.
  • Choosing an Artist: In choosing an artist to tattoo, you should never "price shop". Tattoo prices are based on quality as well as time, and prices will vary artist to artist, region to region. This is not a trade where there are fixed prices. Look at portfolios showcasing examples of tattoos by the tattooist that will be working on you. Look at line quality and smoothness of blends of color. These photos are the best way to determine if a tattooist is worth what you pay them or is capable of the style you seek. A professional will refer you to someone else if they feel they can not do the piece you want correctly. Bargain tattoos, however, are often a sign of someone more interested in your money than your health. If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Don't gamble with your skin. A cheap tattoo now may cost you hundreds to fix later or even worse, may cost you your health.

How Cross-Contamination Prevention Affects You

  The Difference Between Professionals and Scratchers

  • Every idiot that thinks they can buy a tattoo machine and start inking up their friends always seems to forget one key element - the prevention of cross-contamination. This is the part that can make your "clients" really sick or even kill them, but your average scratcher usually doesn't pay any attention to it. As long as they've got a working machine, a needle and some ink, that's all they need to become the next great tattoo artist, right? It's time for a wake-up call, folks.
  • First of all, what is cross-contamination? The GLOSSARY describes it as "the spreading of germs, bacteria and/or disease by carrying them from an infected area to a non-infected area". To make this simpler, let's take a look inside your own home. We'll use the kitchen as an example. I think most people realize that we can't see germs and bacteria, although we acknowledge that they can be found everywhere. Kitchens are especially prone to these tiny organisms due to the presence of foods that we prepare and eat there. Raw meats are very likely to be contaminated with bacteria such as Staph, Salmonella, and E-coli which can make you very sick if you ingest it.
  • If you prepare a hamburger tainted with bacteria and then go wash your hands, you have just contaminated the faucet you touched to turn the water on. So the next time you touch that faucet, even if your hands are clean, you re-contaminate your hands. Now if you go and touch someone's plate, they may touch their fully-cooked (and now safe) hamburger on that tiny area you touched and re-contaminate their meat.
  • If you think this is very unlikely or a little over-the-top, check this out... "The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that between 6.5 million to 33 million cases of food borne illness occur in the United States each year. Worldwide, the numbers grow to staggering proportions...As many as 9,000 people in the United States alone, die yearly.
  • OK, this has little to do with tattooing or body piercing, right? Wrong. The above was an example of food-borne pathogens - microorganisms that make people sick and die every year from food. The scary thing is food-borne pathogens are nothing compared to blood-borne pathogens. This is where this article applies to you.
  • Blood-borne pathogens are the microorganisms that carry infection, Hepatitis, AIDS, and a host of other illnesses. This isn't a little tummy ache from Aunt Sally's bad potato salad we're talking about. These are serious diseases that can be carried in people's blood, many times without them even knowing it. When you tattoo or pierce someone, you come in contact with blood and bodily fluids. If you do not know exactly what to do to prevent those fluids from touching and contaminating any other surfaces, you are putting lives at risk every time you tattoo or pierce someone, including yourself.
  • When you tattoo someone, everything becomes contaminated. The ink is contaminated, the machine is contaminated, the needle is contaminated, the tube is contaminated, your gloves are contaminated and sometimes even the air around you is contaminated. Your work station is a hazard, your client is a hazard, your equipment are hazards and even that stick of deodorant you use can cross-contaminate from one client to the next. Germs, bacteria and blood-borne pathogens are everywhere. You can't see them, you can't prevent them - the only thing you can do is prevent them from becoming a threat to you and your customers. If you don't know how to do that, then you have no right putting a tattoo needle or piercing needle to anyone's skin, period.
  • And if you're a client who thinks it's cool that your friend's uncle has a set-up in his kitchen and is willing to give you a really good deal on that tattoo or piercing, you had better listen up. This is why it's more expensive to get a tattoo in a professional studio, because it costs money to properly sterilize equipment and test it for any trace of contamination. If they didn't clean anything, they wouldn't have to charge as much either. But you get what you pay for, people. Go ahead and complain about those high prices - but just remember that every time you get a "deal" on a tattoo or piercing, you're probably putting your life at risk. If you don't think your health and life are worth a few extra bucks, then you agree to accept whatever consequences you endure as a result of your stupidity.

By the way, in case you were thinking that this article was going to actually teach you how to prevent blood-borne pathogen cross-contamination, it's not.

That's the job of your mentor when you get a proper apprenticeship!!!